Davenport mixes charm and modern necessities
Maybe it was the lure of peaceful country living, the millions of stars in the dark night sky or the meadows of wildflowers covering the land. Something possessed us to sell our Oregon house and buy a place way out in the country, out in the middle of what seems like nowhere.
So we were on our way to Davenport, Wash., to scope out one of the towns in our new neck of the woods. Although small, Davenport boasts a bank and major grocery store chain – both necessities for us to locate as newcomers.
However, we found more than just a place to deposit money and buy milk. We found a charming place to eat a warm lunch on a cold fall day, learned a bit of wheat country history and took in a beautiful falls on the journey back.
Our dog Kah-less stood on the interior console between me and husband John, eagerly watching the countryside whiz by the window as we drove Washington’s Highway 25 south toward Davenport. Kah-less loves traveling and sniffing out new territory.
White outlined distant mountain ridges beyond Lake Roosevelt. (Hope that’s a good sign for this year’s skiing.)
Ivory clusters of snow berries stood out among leafless branches that lined edges of roadsides, pastures and wheat fields and filled the surrounding forests. Green forests of pine and fir were accented by the brilliant orange needles of the Western larch.
Fog drifted through quiet pastoral scenes with white-trimmed red barns and stacks of hay as we drew closer to Davenport. Acres of wheat extended for miles in all directions from the town where Highway 25 and U.S. 2 intersect.
With stomachs growling, we headed for the Morgan Street Bed & Breakfast, which advertised a coffee shop open to the public. The small setting was cozy. Invited to sit anywhere, we chose a table for two against a wall.
The large, white Victorian with its prominent turret has had about five owners since it was built in 1896 as a residence. Known as Pink House Antiques sometime in the 1960s, it now serves as one of the few places in town to grab a bite and a cup of java.
“The town needed a cafe,” said Char Guhlke as she talked about how Davenport had lost restaurants in the past several years.
She, along with husband Brett and three adult children – Jasen, Ryan and Crystal Tongue – began operating the Morgan Street Bed & Breakfast two years ago.
Before moving to town, the family lived on a nearby wheat farm. Brett’s family had been in the wheat business for a long time, but Guhlke said that wasn’t going so well for them. As a career change, they purchased the Morgan Street house three years ago with the idea of living there and converting it to an adult-care home for women. However, that plan wasn’t coming together, so they saw another opportunity.
“People were running out of places to have a cup of coffee,” Guhlke explained, so they decided to open a coffee shop and bed and breakfast. The bulk of their business is the cafe, but they do get overnight visitors.
“We’re on the way to a lot of places,” Guhlke said. Davenport is a gateway city to the Lake Roosevelt Recreation Area and outdoorsmen know the way.
With Davenport serving as the seat of Lincoln County, organized in 1883, the bed and breakfast also sees its fair share of overnight guests who have business at the courthouse.
Guhlke described the town of more than 1,700 as a hub. From this golden landscape you can set out in any direction to hunt and hike in a forest or to fish one of the lakes that dot the map around Davenport. In winter, the small lakes freeze and become popular ice fishing spots.
If you prefer to stay indoors until spring, three casinos, including Two Rivers at the confluence of the Columbia and Spokane Rivers, are not far away, either.
John ordered half of an albacore tuna grill and clam chowder; I had chowder and a small green salad. We saved room after spotting the offerings of homemade desserts listed on a chalkboard near the door. The single slice of cheesecake we ordered with strawberries, whipped cream and two forks was a delicious ending to our meal.
After lunch, we looked around town. Architectural remnants from Davenport’s early days linger in some structures, yet modern businesses occupy the interiors. A movie rental place and other brick buildings were painted with amusing, Western-themed murals – a young boy playing with a hoop and stick, a cowboy standing on his horse to reach a pretty lady leaning out of a window for a kiss.
We parked at the Lincoln County Museum, which closed at summer’s end. (The museum is open May through September, and by appointment; for more information, call 509-725-6711.)
At the edge of the museum grounds, we walked through the arc of a reconstructed fire bell tower to cross the street to a little city park by Cottonwood Creek. The first tower was built in 1902. The first homestead in the area was at the head of this creek in 1880.
Even earlier, Native Americans and white settlers followed a trail along the creek and camped near a spring where a grove of cottonwoods grew. The trees still grow around the flowing water today.
On our way home we drove U.S. 2 west out of Davenport and took Miles-Creston Road to stop by Hawk Creek Falls Campground in the Lake Roosevelt area.
We had planned to walk the 3.6-mile trail that leads from the campground until we realized it was hunting season and we had forgotten orange vests for us and the dog. But, we made a note to return to the trail, suggested by The Spokesman-Review’s outdoors editor, Rich Landers, in a bonus hike section in “100 Hikes in the Inland Northwest” (second edition). The trail is described as covering different terrain, past beaches and sage.
We walked around the falls, inhaling the damp mist that inhabits the edges and reaches around Lake Roosevelt and its tributaries on a chilly, foggy Northwest day. We admired the falls that were tucked away, almost hidden, between walls of basalt.
Climbing back into the truck, we settled under the warm air of the heater for the ride home. Our afternoon was a pleasant escape from the hundreds of things to do as brand-new Washington residents – new health insurance, doctors … and a new driver’s license test.
“You don’t have to be the valedictorian of the Washington DMV,” my husband said, tempering my momentary panic. “You just need to pass it.”
Well, I’d rather not think about any test right now. I’d rather pick another spot on the map and dream up another Inland Northwest day-trip.